Return of the Fanboy

Agents of Chaos 1: Hero's Trial

2011-08-02T01:48:00.001+02:00

Hero's Trial by James Luceno offers us a refreshing change of pace in The New Jedi Order, narrowing the focus from our galaxy-spanning cast of heroes to just one: Han Solo. Made inconspicuous by grief over the death of Chewbacca for the last two books, Han's four-month spasm of drunken denial comes to an end when a figure from his past appears with information on an old colleague turned traitor. Meanwhile a Yuuzhan Vong priestess stages a defection as part of a covert operation to assassinate Jedi, and the New Republic braces itself for the next round of conquest.

Hero's Trial gave me exactly what I was looking for after finishing Ruin. After two books of multiple points of view compressed into too-few pages, Luceno lets things breathe a bit by shifting the narrative from a host of Jedi to just Han. In his freshman effort, he takes up the mantle of resuming the story of Han Solo and leaves me wanting more - more of wisecracking Droma, Han's new foil and emergent partner, more of the enigmatic Vergere, whose story began for me in Outbound Flight, and more of Han rolling his way into situations on the back of a dice.

The truth of the matter is that I've been sitting on this review for over a week resolving a broken Kindle crisis, and that my impressions of this story aren't as sharp as they could be. Since Hero's Trial is part of a duology, I will withhold the bulk of my commentary for its sequel, Jedi Eclipse. The only thing not mentioned already that really stands out in my memory is Luceno's portrayal of large battles, which he performs almost solely through narration. While the action directly affecting Han gets a more-detailed treatment, all large fleet actions, bombardments, and ground assaults are described in a way that makes me feel like I'm reading a description of a fireworks show or a vibrant painting. As you can imagine, no such description can really do the thing justice, and so it is with Hero's Trial.

Back next time with Jedi Eclipse, and more Han Solo!

Dark Tide 2: Ruin

2011-07-19T22:55:00.010+02:00

Stars Wars, The New Jedi Order, Dark Tide 2: Ruin, by Michael A. Stackpole is a book that didn't thrill me. While the action consistently hits all the right notes and there are a few legitimately touching character moments, I felt overall that it was compressed and rendered flat by an over-reliance on what I'm going to call "emotional exposition". I can't count the number of times I found myself uttering, "Show me Michael, stop telling me!"

Okay, so what do I mean? Wikipedia tells us that exposition used as a literary technique is the conveyance of information to the reader. What I am proposing is that in both Onslaught and Ruin, Stackpole goes to a technique of "emotional exposition", in narration but especially in dialogue, wherein we find our beloved EU characters constantly explaining themselves and their motivations for the benefit of the reader. It feels unnatural, and it makes many characters appear rather stiff.

Jacen Solo is hit hardest. The young Jedi Knight sees some action in Ruin, which is great, but it was all ruined for me by his incessant introspection. There are ways of conveying uncertainty and doubt without referencing them directly through dialogue or thought italics. Show me with his actions! Show me with observation from other characters' points of view! Or better yet, let the reader figure it out. Yeah, you heard me. I will believe in the doubt of Jacen Solo, the heroism of Corran Horn, the nobility of Gilad Pellaeon, the duplicity of Borsk Fey'lya, the disposition of the galaxy towards the Jedi, and the desperation of the galactic situation without having it referenced to me ad nauseum.

*breath*

Jacen Solo

But maybe we should cut Stackpole some slack. He originally planned Dark Tide as a trilogy, but before writing the middle book, his allowance was cut. Siege was brought before Solomon and split down the middle, half going to each of the two remaining volumes. This could account for a great deal of the criticism I have leveled towards this book and its predecessor, Onslaught.

To Stackpole's credit, there are characters here escaping that criticism. Anakin Solo is clearly on the hero's path, and I love every scene he's in. He follows Theodore Roosevelt's famous advice to his and the story's great benefit. Jaina Solo also comes off better than her twin, with many of her scenes focused on action and the process of adjusting to a military lifestyle. Tucked into this book is also a little story about Daeshara'cor, a pissed off Jedi on a hot streak for revenge over the death of her Jedi lover. She's after superweapons, and Luke and Anakin head off in pursuit... and apprehend her. I thought this storyline had a lot of potential and I wanted it to go further. I think it could have fit in neatly as a short story to nestle between Dark Tide's two volumes.

Also, I liked Shadao Shai.

On the topic of the sado-masochistic Yuuzhan Vong commander, let's pause a moment to talk about darkness. Darkness. When Vector Prime hit the shelves, promising a grittier, more stark vision of Star Wars, I was thrilled. I had read a lot of stories about Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy with their buddies. I was pretty confident they would pull it off again, but I liked the idea that they wouldn't come through unscathed. Fast forward 10 years, the last sci-fi/fantasy series I had read before rediscovering Vector Prime was George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire: packed with incest, violence, and rape, and which killed off its primary protagonist by the end of the first book. I don't expect this from Star Wars, but then again I don't think every Star Wars saga needs to paraphrase the movie trilogies either. It's been done.

Corran Horn vs. Shedao Shai

So I don't mind Ruin's darkness. I don't even mind its depictions of pain, torture, and death. I do mind when it doesn't serve the story - and fortunately in the case of Shadao Shai, it does. After Onslaught's respite from Yuuzhan Vong point of view, we're treated to a cunning and compelling alien who gives new insight into Vong culture. I was sad to see him go. Indeed, I have a queer sort of hope that he might comically reemerge into the story minus the technophobia with bionic legs as a kind of strange, conflicted anti-hero. And while I'm being honest, I'll also admit that I wasn't so sad to see that annoyingly irreproachable do-gooder, Elegos, meet his end. Dark enough for ya?

Some people aren't fans of how this book ends, but I'm not one of them. Let us not forget that The Empire Strikes Back didn't end on such a high note, either. The one thing about the end that actually jarred me was Corran's play for time: tactically clever, but I'm not so sure if it made for great storytelling. It split up the Battle of Ithor, which also rushed up on the reader out of nowhere. Really, he could have made his heroic stand without pausing the action, right?

I want to reiterate, in the presence of so much criticism, that Michael A. Stackpole is a master of action. The insurgence on Garqi was fun and the Battle of Ithor was simply awesome. Whether it be X-Wings or lightsabers, this is what he does. Finally, and on a decidedly less dark note, I will add that one of my favorite scenes in the book came when Luke and Mara and Corran and Mirax were able to share an intimate moment on the eve of the great battle. I'm a romantic, maybe even a sap, and that kind of stuff hits me somewhere really real. Thanks, Mike.

Next, I venture on with James Luceno's Agents of Chaos 1: Hero's Trial. I'm looking forward to a different author's perspective on Star Wars, the return of Han Solo, and I'm hoping that the Jedi will take a bit of a back seat on this one. They'll keep.

May the Force be with you... in bed.

Dark Tide 1: Onslaught

2011-07-15T02:45:00.006+02:00

Dark Tide: Onslaught is the first of two books by Michael A. Stackpole following up R. A. Salvatore's Vector Prime, series starter of The New Jedi Order. Of all the places in the Expanded Universe timeline I picked here to resume my journey because the previous trip thoroughly covered the 25-year period following the movies and I'm ready for that generation of heroes to age. I'm ready for Star Wars to take the next step past the story of Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy.

Vector Prime did a great job getting us started on that new story. An alien race invades from outside the galaxy, and a maturing new generation of Jedi including the Solo children form the vanguard of galactic opposition. New Republic forces are tied down by political infighting, and its up to a combined cast of heroes old and new to carry the day. I loved it.

I'll admit that Vector Prime was the first Star Wars book I'd read in about 10 years. Dark Tide: Onslaught was my 12th, and I've dined on a lot of lightsabers and turbolasers in the meantime. While it may have been impossible for me to dislike any Star Wars selection after 10 years withdrawal from the Expanded Universe, today my expectations are bit higher.

Anakin Solo

Dark Tide: Onslaught took a direct approach to developing our new cast by pairing them one-to-one with more familiar heroes. Introspective Jacen Solo, struggling to find balance between a Jedi's obligation to himself and to the galaxy, returns to Belkadan with Luke Skywalker. Adventurous Anakin Solo must learn to moderate his zeal as a young Jedi Knight tasked with overseeing Luke's sick wife Mara, who retreats to Dantooine for some R&R. Jaina Solo gets stuck with Leia on a diplomatic mission to the Outer Rim where she does her best to dodge her mother's shadow until she can get into a cockpit. Things get interesting, and as a result we're treated to some character development.

And it really is that simple. Most of the character insight we're treated to comes through dialogue, and that dialogue is often simple to the point of insulting the reader's intelligence. The few times when it's really good, it comes off as succinct and authentically Star Wars. Most of the rest of the time it's stilted, and difficult to imagine one character saying to the other. Dark Tide: Onslaught is full of these extremely unnatural conversations, long on information and short on words.

I should also mention that Corran Horn makes a triumphant return to The New Jedi Order, under the pen of his creator, Stackpole, as the bannerman for the emergent moderate faction in Luke's Jedi Order. Ganner Rhysode, half Corran's age, falls firmly in line behind Kyp Durron in adopting more extremist views of the Jedi's role in the galaxy. These two are assigned to each other in a mission to investigate the disappearance of a student expedition on Bimmiel, where they hash out their differences mostly with action, and only occasionally with words to the delight of this reader. I'd put the Corran/Ganner investigation second only to the Anakin/Mara adventure in terms of quality and enjoyment, and only slightly above the heretofore-unmentioned Rogue Squadron campaign which can honestly do no wrong. Seriously, gotta love that about a Michael A. Stackpole book.

All in all Dark Tide: Onslaught is short and mostly sweet. The weave of the story boasts many threads, but they're made thin by the narrow space between front and back covers. Overall it felt compressed, and I wonder if it and its sequel Dark Tide: Ruin might have been originally imagined as a trilogy. It is to that book that I now progress. Going forward, I'll be looking forward to some more convincing storytelling from Mr. Stackpole.

I keep thinking to work some comments on my new Kindle into one of these posts, so here are a few thoughts. Carries the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe. Very readable, easily handled, pretty easy to send new books to. Interface is clunky, buttons feel inelegant. Screen savers of dead authors is not customizable except by hack, which of course I would never do. Overall I'm extremely happy with it!

"Sticks", huh? Wonder what other kind of stick that might be a reference to.

Survivor's Quest

2011-07-10T20:18:00.017+02:00

Let me start off by saying that I may have spoiled Timothy Zahn's Survivor's Quest for myself by reading Outbound Flight first (my review). Even though Survivor's Quest comes later chronologically, it poses many questions that Outbound Flight answers. Any sense of mystery I would have felt reading this book was replaced by a sense of frustration, as I watched its characters stumble around looking for answers I already knew.

That said, Survivor's Quest is a standalone book centered around the discovery of the Outbound Flight crash site deep in territory controlled by the Chiss Ascendancy. A call goes out and a motley crew is formed consisting of Luke and Mara (now married), a Stormtrooper squad from the Empire of the Hand led by the son of Baron Fel, a technician masquerading as a New Republic ambassador, a diplomatic contingent from an alien species, and the Chiss military..

The majority of the book is told from a mixed Luke and Mara point of view. Now 3 years into the heavenly bond of matrimony, they fight and think as one with the Force as their ally. Unfortunately, this is about all they do. They risk life and limb almost lightheartedly, and for no apparent reason other than that they've got nothing better to do. You'd think that in a book centered around a married Jedi couple that there might be some conflict and resolution within that relationship, but everything is just peachy. Nothing is risked here, and nothing is learned. Luke and Mara finish this book exactly the same as they enter it - curious, but detached. Sometimes Jedi are so boring.

The lack of anything interesting happening between Mara and Luke doesn't keep them from filling up significant portions of the book with expository dialogue, though. This is where we learn that Outbound Flight was a massive Jedi-led expedition to explore what lies beyond the galactic rim, and that Thrawn was Chiss but his people don't like him very much because he destroyed Outbound Flight. They hash out everything ad nauseum and, especially aboard the Chiss vessel before arriving at the crash site, it is absolutely nauseating.

The story moves on when they arrive at Outbound Flight and - gasp - there are Survivors aboard. Our crew gets separated, there are some threats made, and conflict arises. The survivors aren't gracious hosts, and after awhile one of factions in our motley crew reveals their true nature by turning on everyone else and attempting to make off with the goods. Action ensues, and its up to Luke and Mara to save the day. After doing so, they reflect on the day and let the reader know what they should have learned.

I will say that it was cool getting a chance to see what a Jedi couple in their prime can do. I also enjoyed Zahn's depiction of the Stormtrooper squad from the Emperor of the Hand. I was excited going in to get a chance to see Outbound Flight again, but I found Zahn's description of the derelict confusing, and halfway through I gave up trying to envision where everyone was.

There are a lot of places here where I think Zahn could have deepened the story to its benefit. The survivors of Outbound Flight hate Jedi and, when they find them among them, lock them away in an improvised prison. Though we do meet a young girl actively disguising her Force sensitivity, Luke and Mara aren't all that interested and we never get to meet the prisoners. We're tempted with the prospect of Jedi insight from onboard records, but it never happens and Luke doesn't learn anything. Chak Fel and his Stormtroopers are cool, but we don't get to know much about them or their motivations.

Most of all though, I was just disappointed at the central conflict of the story. The fellows who ended up being the villains went mostly undeveloped. Their burning desire for red revenge just existed; we know its factual source but not much about any of the players involved. In the stead of a compelling nemesis I wouldn't have minded something like a relationship conflict between Luke and Mara, something that grows their relationship as a result of having worked through it during the adventure. But maybe this is asking too much from my Star Wars.

To summarize, I enjoyed Survivor's Quest. I just couldn't help but ask for more and deeper at every turn the story took. You hear me Mr. Zahn?

I think I'll let my reviews stand on their own without quantifiable ratings, and mention that for my next book I'm debating between Shatterpoint and Dark Tide: Onslaught. I've started both, thoughts so far are that I can't read Mace Windu without hearing Samuel Jackson in my head, and that Stackpole's New Jedi Order continuation has one of those infuriatingly flat obstinate politician scenes at the very start, which turns me off a bit. Back soon with my next review!

Catching Up - The Bad

2011-07-10T15:54:00.013+02:00

As I continued my quest through that galaxy far, far away I would soon discover that they can't all be winners...

Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn

Specter of the Past / Vision of the Future

The Empire embarks on a mission of peace, while the New Republic crumbles around a political crisis that divides the galaxy. Covert elements resurrect a threat the likes of which has not been seen in years. And man, am I the only one completely turned off by the trope of obstinate politicians in Star Wars literature?

This two-book series extends the story of Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy 10 years into the future, opening the book that much more on his original characters - notably Mara Jade and Talon Karrde - while Luke further explores Jedi philosophy and Han and Leia embark on parenthood in their unique swashbuckling way.

In this story, I loved the Imperial angle: reconciliation with the New Republic, a disgruntled Moff taking matters into his own hands, and organized Imperial terrorism! All new, all interesting, enjoyed every minute. On the other hand it was difficult to read Zahn's consistently one-dimensional, stubborn, and unsympathetic portrayals of the story's New Republic political elements. I'll admit that it may be tipping its hat at the real world, but I want to enjoy my Star Wars. Give me politics as it ought to be, not as it is: boring, biting, and offensive.

The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton

When I packed my bags for overseas, I had room for only a few books. I packed my Zahn, a couple new ones (Death Troopers and Outbound Flight), then I looked to my collection for two nice stand-alone titles. The first one I picked was this New York Times Bestseller: the story of Han's post-movie courtship of Leia, what could be better, right?

It's clear to me now why though I'd read it before, I so vaguely remembered it. It is forgettable. Dave Wolverton's portrayal of Han, Leia, and Luke is bland. His introduction of Prince Isoldor as a rich, charming man-hunk to rival Han's affection for Leia quickly becomes disappointing. Teneniel Djo, the one original character I liked, got stuck with Mr. Disappointing while The Big Three (Luke, Han, Leia) went off to live happily ever after.

There are a few promising story elements here that I would have loved to see further developed: Zsinj's standoff with the Dathomir witches, and the matriarchal native societies based around female Force-wielders, the rancors. In the end though, Dave's treatment of all his characters as emotional teenagers unable to make rational or complex choices made this a chore to get through.

I will say however! There is one source of continuing happiness that The Courtship of Princess Leia provided me with. Early on there is a short part of the story told from C-3PO's point of view, as he attempts to defend Han's virtue publicly by explaining that Han is the descendant of Corellian kings - King Solo! This short snippet, and Threepio's continued attempts to sweeten Leia on Han, are completely charming and never failed to elicit a smile from this fanboy.

The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre

The Crystal Star is the second New York Times Bestseller I stuffed my suitcase with - and the second time that the New York Times let me down.

The whole thing is forgettable, and was quite difficult to finish. Indeed, the only reason I bothered is because it was the last book I brought with me. Luke is weird and brooding, Han and Leia are both nutcases, and the Solo children while adorable are a little difficult to believe. The story's villain is a mysterious Imperial secret-police type rendered into an evil school principal by the Rebellion who is hatching a plot to achieve ultimate power by feeding children to an enigmatic blob named Waru.

Shortly after completion of this dreary effort I received in the mail my Star Wars-flavored salvation: a brand new Kindle.

Next time, my journey into that galaxy far, far away will continue with Timothy Zahn's Survivor's Quest, my first eBook entry into the annals of the Return of the Fanboy.

Catching Up - The Good

2011-07-10T15:53:00.014+02:00

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Greg. Star Wars has been a life-long fascination for me, although my journey through its story halted abruptly 10 years ago. That tale I shall perhaps recount another time, for now let it be said that the journey that began at that time has now ended, and once again I have found myself exploring the mystery, the drama, and the magic of that galaxy far, far away.

It began four months ago, when I blew the dust off of a sealed box in my parents' attic: my Star Wars library. I will now recount in brief my re-immersion into that story of Skywalkers and Solos, lightsabers and lightning, of light and of dark...

What follows is roughly three months of books packed into a post. Pace yourself!

Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore

As I cracked that ancient case, the first face to stare back at me was that of a grotesque Yuuzhan Vong warrior, daring me to take up the challenge of his story.

And indeed I saw it as a challenge. Though I had previously read Vector Prime, it took me no less than 3 tries to finish it first go-around. I had no such trouble this time. What an incredible story! I exalted at the promise of a new generation of heroes and grinned in fond recollection at the exploits of the previous. Every single character took on new depth and I was hooked.

Death Trooper by Joe Schreiber

Death Troopers was just fun. An impulse buy made while cruising local book stores for the Thrawn Trilogy, it ended up as my travel companion on an international flight. Indeed, as I flew over the Atlantic it was not hard to imagine the derelict interior of a forsaken Star Destroyer floating through space.

This story is an image - zombie Stormtroopers - rolled out into a story. This is okay with me. I read most of it half-asleep and its simplicity and shallowness was just what I needed - no characters to care about, nothing new to know. Also, it was nice to be see Star Wars sans Jedi - those walking deus ex machina's.

Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn

Masterpiece. This is my one-word review of Outbound Flight by the eminent Mr. Zahn. It ties in Thrawn, the Trade Federation, Palpatine, and the Yuuzhan Vong invasion in a way that single-handedly hooked me into each one of these stories. And as if that wasn't enough, we got a half-sane gray Jedi playing hardball politics, a massive expedition of 6 Dreadnaughts tied together to explore outside the fucking galaxy, and in my opinion one of the coolest Star Wars reveals next to family Skywalker: that Palpatine's massive Imperial arms buildup had a purpose other than subjugation.

Sorry to go all fanboy about this, but Outbound Flight is, in a word: awesome.

Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
Heir to the Empire / Dark Force Rising / The Last Command

On a list of all-time most effective villians, Darth Vader is hard to top. Powerful, ruthless, intimidating - the voice of James Earl Jones. A slave boy risen to power, fallen to tragedy, and redeemed by his lost son, its hard to imagine another nemesis that can capture the imagination as he does.

Enter Grand Admiral Thrawn: a soft-spoken, blue-skinned art critic whose machinations and cunning will captivate a galaxy, and Star Wars fans everywhere. This trilogy about Thrawn at the apex of his power, set some 5 years after the events of the movies, are the first words out of my mouth when asked about Star Wars books by anyone curious. This is space opera.

Finish catching up with me in the next post!